China Radio International,
one of the most influential international broadcasting stations
in the world, serves the entire globe with 211 hours of broadcasts
every day in 43 foreign languages and Chinese dialects. The
English Service is one of its most important divisions. And
through our website users can read program transcripts, view
illustrations and hear our programs as well.

The English Service was first launched at Shahe
Village at the foot of the Taihang Mountains in north China's
Hebei Province on September 11, 1947, when the country was engaged
in a civil war. The XNCR, as we were called then, made its debut
in nothing but a cave studio in the mountains of Taihang, to
provide first-hand information about the liberated areas. Conditions
there were so primitive that our very first announcer Wei Lin
would often have to carry a flashlight to the cave studio so
as to scare the wolves away.

When the People's
Republic was founded in 1949, we moved from the Taihang
Mountains to Peking, capital of the new China. We therefore
changed our signal from XNCR to Radio Peking on April
10, 1950, and set up our own independent editorial department
under the Central People's Broadcast Station. Radio Peking
had been on the air till 1983, when the name was changed
into Radio Beijing.

10 years later, to avoid confusion with the
local Beijing People's Broadcast Station, we again changed our
name to China Radio International on January 1, 1993

As China opens its door
to the outside world and as more and more English speaking people
come to China, we feel the need to launch our home service to cater
to their needs. At the beginning of 1984, we started to broadcast
our home service to the Beijing area on AM and FM frequencies. The
service later expanded to dozens of major cities across China, providing
listeners inside China with timely news and reports, music, weather,
English and Chinese learning skills, as well as other services.

In addition to our short-wave
broadcasts, we also try to make ourselves heard on the local AM and
FM frequencies in many parts of the world through different forms
of cooperation. We can now be heard locally in cities like Washington,
Los Angles, London, as well as dozens of major cities across the world.
If you're randomly tuning your AM/FM receiver at your home or in your
car, chances are you'll meet us. Just check our Programs section to
find out the exact local time and frequencies in your area.

For many domestic listeners,
we probably sound more like a music station as we try to expand our
broadcast domestically. In fact, of our 18 hour-daily-broadcast in
the Beijing area, for example, music programs that feature different
styles make up 14.5 hours of it. Popular programs like Easy FM, Joy
FM, Hit FM, Afternoon Concert, Jazz Bit, etc, are warmly received
across the country. On March 28, 1999, 91.50 FM was converted into
an all-English channel in Beijing. Listeners who want to keep up with
current affairs, learn English and enjoy music can now stay on just
a single frequency.

In 1997, with a 40 million
yuan investment from the Chinese government and a government loan
of 3.2 million US dollars from Austria, we completed a revolutionary
switch from a traditional analog broadcast mode to a state-of-the-art
digital one. The digital facilities, provided by Siemens Austria,
include a data storage bank, a central control, live broadcast systems
and recording work-stations. As both the production and the transmission
of programs are digitalized, we now boast the largest digital broadcasting
system of any radio service in the world.

At present, we broadcast 136.5 hours
of programs each day. And it is widely acknowledged that we're one
of the most convenient media to learn about China. Dedicated to serving
as a bridge that links China to the world, and the world to China,
we hope to do our bit to promote exchanges and enhance mutual understandings
between China and other countries. In 2002 alone, we received over
168,000 letters from our listeners in more than 100 countries and
regions. We're always very appreciative of your trust on us and we
know we can count on you, because you are our strength.

We've walked out of the Taihang Mountains
long ago, and moved into a high-rise building in the western part
of Beijing in 1997. You can always reach us by dropping us a line,
or send us an email at the following address.